The actor has said he "couldn't resist trading in my moustache for her heels".

He said that, after playing "an extraordinary character like Hercule Poirot in wonderful stories for so long, I always knew it would be a challenge to find another character as extraordinary to play. I also wanted comedy. Lady Bracknell is both."

It would not be the first time the character, played by Dame Judi Dench in the 2002 film, has been played by a man - Brian Bedford took on the role on stage and in a film version.

The newspaper reported that the Suchet production will be directed by Adrian Noble, who worked with the actor at the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Suchet played Poirot for the last time last year after a quarter of a century in the role for the ITV shows.

The Importance Of Being Earnest, which is widely regarded as Wilde's masterpiece, was first performed in the West End in 1895.

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